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I am not a fan of the Euro styling of the Sprinter.
Disappointingly.. I am not a fan of anything :-). I really just want a slightly bigger Suburban; I actually like the way it looks.
All of the current vans visually disappoint me (including the Express). So, I'm looking almost exclusively at function at this point, which I think is part of the definition of a van. [Admittedly I am considering the Ford... but I have a really had time getting past its looks.]
I'd think air bags help with heavy loads, not smoothing out the ride. In my van, the shocks weren't doing the job. The RideTechs have much more damping.
I'm already averaging around 14 with my Suburban, so I'm prepared for it. Did you have the custom seats installed, or did you find one with them already?
Did you ever consider airbags for the Express (and if so, do you imagine the ride would change much)?
Cray, sorry for the delayed response, we were traveling over the long weekend... We found our van with the custom seats already installed. There are a few up-fitter companies who install custom components for ride-share companies, taxi services, shuttles, etc. SafetyVan and Adrian Steel are a couple that I've learned about (ours is an Adrian Steel van). Every once in a while, one will show up on the used market. Usually just outside of the the 36k warranty (our van had 43k miles when we bought it).
I don't know if air helper springs on the Express would do much to improve the ride quality, since they are usually meant to level a squatting rear end due to a heavy load. But, if anyone else has experience adding them, I'd be interested to hear about it. The dampening effect of better shocks might be enough (as others have mentioned) to improve the ride, but I'm not in a rush to throw money at my van... yet.
Last edited by GatorHawk24; September 4th, 2018 at 2:10 PM.
Reason: grammar
BTW, I mentioned that we get around 14 mpg mixed use... that's city/highway combined, not towing. We get around 7.5-10 mpg when towing our 7k+ lbs travel trailer, depending on speed, hills, wind, etc.
- Here's the last row, row 5... (we've since removed this row to accommodate more storage.
- This is everything forward of the last row. We actually moved the 2-seat frame from the last row and replaced the left single seat with it. Now there's 3 seats across row 4.
Last edited by GatorHawk24; September 4th, 2018 at 2:14 PM.
I switched from 99 suburban 4x4 to 2000 express. I miss my 4x4 but I love the room my 3500 has. The down fall I would say is the size of the van when you need to park. I rolled my suburban so now my 3500 is my everyday rider. Once you get used to parking a big sized van it's still a vortek. I have always had good luck with vortek engines.
BTW, I mentioned that we get around 14 mpg mixed use... that's city/highway combined, not towing. We get around 7.5-10 mpg when towing our 7k+ lbs travel trailer, depending on speed, hills, wind, etc.
...
I ended up finding a van with almost the same seating arrangement as yours, I assume it was also an Adrian Steel van. my mother [who has a bad back] was not comfortable with the ride in the 2500 or 3500 Express, so we had to look at the other options. After some further looking and test driving, I ended up purchasing a Nissan NV. It has much lower space efficiency (it is about as big as a long wheelbase Express, but with the interior space of a short wheelbase express)... but she likes the ride better.
I ended up finding a van with almost the same seating arrangement as yours, I assume it was also an Adrian Steel van. my mother [who has a bad back] was not comfortable with the ride in the 2500 or 3500 Express, so we had to look at the other options. After some further looking and test driving, I ended up purchasing a Nissan NV. It has much lower space efficiency (it is about as big as a long wheelbase Express, but with the interior space of a short wheelbase express)... but she likes the ride better.
Thank you for your help.
We strongly considered the Nissan NV before we bought our Express, primarily for its better ride and front seat comfort (compared to the Express). The NV and the Express are the only full size vans that have any respectable tow capability, and we wanted it to haul a large travel trailer. However, the passenger/cargo space in the NV felt cramped for our use (we couldn't fit some of the car seats back there, and it lacked the storage space we wanted), but we really liked the NV over all. Too bad Chevy hasn't felt threatened enough by the NV or other Euro-style vans to put a little refinement into the Express. It's a great van, but it could use some improvements. Enjoy your NV!
The ride in these beasts is way harsh. But on the suggestion of another member here, I put a set of Ridetech shocks by Fox Racing. Made all the difference in the world.
I switched from an Expedition EL to an Express 3500 extended. Only about a week and 1,000 miles into the van, but so far I am very happy. I miss the 4wd, obviously I knew the van was RWD when I purchased it, if we can't work around the lack of 4wd, I will convert it. The added interior space and ability to move around in the van is fantastic, especially with four young kids. The kids love it too! The van does not handle as well as the Expy, but it is still a nice drive. So far it is getting better mileage, my last tank was 18.1 mpg, mostly mountain highway driving. I am impressed with the mileage out of a 6,000+ lb vehicle with a 6.0l engine. Very happy with the van vs the SUV so far, and expect to be happier with it as the miles roll by.
August 30th, 2018, 9:52 AM
